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4th December 2003 Archive

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  • Council accused of gagging Web site

    Freedom of speech v defamation

    A Merseyside man claims his Web site has been gagged over allegations that it defamed local councillors. Mick Dempsey runs Kirkby Times, a fiercely independent news site which provides "local news, not spin-doctored rubbish". It receives contributions from local people and takes particular relish in keeping tabs on the …

    Media 4 Dec 2003, 09:09

  • Cisco Wi-Fi kit in minor security flap

    WEP schlep

    Cisco yesterday warned of a security vulnerability in the software running on its popular line of Aironet wireless LAN access points. Under certain conditions, Aironet Access Points running Cisco IOS software will send static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys to in clear text to Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) …

    Broadband 4 Dec 2003, 09:11

  • Spam epidemic gets worse

    But you knew that already

    Spam - otherwise known as unsolicited commercial email - accounted for 56 per cent of all emails sent in November. The biggest volumes of nuisance email blocked by anti-spam specialist Brightmail during the month were product promos (22 per cent of all spam messages), financial offers (17 per cent), adult (16 per cent) and …

    Security 4 Dec 2003, 09:15

  • Europe in brief Sketching in space

    At the EuroMold trade show in Frankfurt this week the 12 German Fraunhofer Institutes showed new developments in the area of Rapid Prototyping, which allow physical objects to be built up layer by layer directly from 3D CAD model data. One highlight is a wireless stylus that enables the free-hand sketching of objects inside a …

    Personal 4 Dec 2003, 09:22

  • Wi-Fi/Flash combo drives proliferate

    Plug'n'play WLAN access

    Gigabyte's recently announced USB Flash drive/Wi-Fi adaptor combo isn't unique, as we first thought. A number of Register readers tell us there are at least half a dozen more versions of this kind of device coming to market by way of Taiwanese manufacturers. Many of them are shipping already, though UK and US availability …

    Mobile 4 Dec 2003, 09:26

  • BT and Siemens dance the light fantastic

    Ultra-fast optical networking breakthrough

    Siemens and BT today claimed a breakthrough in ultra-high switching of data over optical fibre networks. A field trial, conducted in the UK by BT Exact, BT's research arm, has successfully demonstrated the transmission and switching of data at a rate of 160Gbps per wavelength over installed fibre. This is 16 times faster than …

    Data Networking 4 Dec 2003, 09:27

  • Sex and gambling drive mobile content sales

    How old are you?

    Gambling services and adult content delivered via mobile phones could generate combined revenues of $6.5 billion by 2006, according to two new studies. The projected growth in these new mobile content industries, however, will only take place if "the right operating conditions" are set by industry and regulators, said UK-based …

    Mobile 4 Dec 2003, 09:47

  • Nvidia expands workstation graphics line

    Quadro FX 1100 available now

    Nvidia yesterday filled out its range of workstation-oriented graphics boards with a new mid-range part, the Quadro FX 1100. Based on Nvidia's existing IBM-manufactured 130nm, 120 million transistor Quadro FX chip, the 1100 board sits between the existing FX 1000 and FX 2000 parts. Like those chips, it supports up to 128MB of …

    Personal 4 Dec 2003, 09:51

  • The growing problem of identity theft

    Europe catching up with USA

    According to the 2003 Computer Crime Survey conducted by the Computer Security Institute in conjunction with the FBI, nearly 13 per cent of respondents were the victim of identity theft in the past year in the US, writes Fran Howarth OF Bloor Research. In total, losses from identity theft in the US in the past year are estimated …

    Security 4 Dec 2003, 09:53

  • eBay ‘hacker’ challenges PC ban

    Ever-slipping trial date

    Accused eBay hacker Jerome Heckenkamp is back in federal court in California this month, but it isn't for his ever-slipping trial date. His attorneys are mounting a constitutional challenge to court-ordered pre-trial restrictions that have kept him from computers and the Internet since his indictment nearly three years ago. …

    Security 4 Dec 2003, 09:58

  • On the Google Deskbar

    Search the Web without a browser

    At the start of November, Google Labs came up with an interesting search feature - the Google Deskbar. We’ve been trying it out. The Deskbar is just that - it sits at the bottom of your Windows screen, a little box to type in whatever comes to mind and then use Google's search engine to throw up whatever information is out …

    Media 4 Dec 2003, 10:05

  • Round 3: RIAA sues more file swappers

    Sends out warnings too

    The RIAA has filed suit against 41 people in a third wave of legal actions against file traders accused of swapping music illegally through peer-to-peer networks such as KaZaA. The lobby group, which represents the major music labels, has also warned another 90 people that it may sue them. The RIAA is targeting high-volume …

    Media 4 Dec 2003, 11:01

  • ASA slaps Nodots scam

    EU Registry Services also cautioned

    Denmark-based Net naming outfit Nodots has received a slap on the wrist from the UK's advertising watchdog for sending junk mail that resembles and invoice. The company tried to get companies to cough up £500 to register for its "Qname" service by sending out misleading-looking letters that looked like invoices. Only in the …

    Media 4 Dec 2003, 11:12

  • BT strikes blow in cable blowing patent case

    Broadwing coughs

    BT is blowing its own trumpet today after scoring a victory in a patent dispute. Last summer BT began legal action in the US against six companies concerning patents for blowing fibre optic cables down bores and conduits. BT's blown cable technology uses compressed air and other gasses to blow fibre optic cables down conduits …

    Data Networking 4 Dec 2003, 13:15

  • Roll up for the MS UK Win2k backdating updating system

    We think maybe there's something they're not telling British businesses...

    Attention British businesses! Are you serious about security? Well, of course you are, so try this little excursion along the Microsoft road to corporate security. First, fish out one of those old Windows 2000 Professional distribution CDs you have, and do a fresh install. As you're a British business, remember to set your …

    Software 4 Dec 2003, 13:29

  • MS tightens IP grip on Cleartype and FAT- calls it liberalisation

    Pay for WHAT? No, pay for FAT...

    Microsoft has "announced expanded access to extensive intellectual property portfolio", it trumpets proudly here, while over here one of Microsoft's many lawyers explains why protecting IP is the lifeblood of the industry. But, pray tell, what IP treasures is it that Microsoft is now generously licensing? Well there's ClearType …

    Software 4 Dec 2003, 14:40

  • e-Minister will make every public library a Wi-Fi hotspot

    'I'm very keen on the idea' - Timms

    Government minister Stephen Timms opened today's Wi-Fi & 3G summit in London by listing the achievements of the "light touch regulatory policy" he's been able to put in place since taking over at the Department - and confirmed that his plan to put an open Wi-Fi hotspot in every public library was "going ahead". "I'm very keen …

    Broadband 4 Dec 2003, 16:04

  • US man has IT company logo tattooed on head

    'Walking billboard' secures 500 new customers

    Those companies looking for a novel way to grow their business could do worse than follow the example of US hosting outfit CI Host. For the next five years a 22-year-old man from Illinois will roam the States with a five-inch CI Host tattoo on the back of his head, handing out business cards and flyers. The company reportedly …

    Bootnotes 4 Dec 2003, 16:08

  • Veritas and NetApp snuggle up

    Deeper ties

    Building on a promise made earlier this year, Veritas and Network Appliance have forged closer ties, linking their respective software and hardware products with ease of use in mind. The two companies have announced their first set of product bundles aimed at specific storage tasks such as data lifecycle management and back-ups …

    Data Center 4 Dec 2003, 16:10

  • Subdermal RFID chip provokes furore

    Black helicopters disgorging lizard invasion army, etc, etc

    Well, it's already been widely reported, but we reckon it's Vulture Central's turn to chip in its two cents' worth to the subdermal RFID chip debate. To summarise, US cybercorporation Applied Digital Solutions has developed the so-called "VeriChip", a "miniaturised, implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID) that …

    Bootnotes 4 Dec 2003, 16:14

  • Phone scam warning exposed as hoax

    Urban myth number 352

    An email warning people to beware of a phone scam that could cost them £20 a minute is a hoax. The email warns people about receiving a recorded message which tells them they've won a prize, and then asks them to press '9' to hear further details. Warns the email: "If 9 is pressed, this connects you to a premium line that …

    Media 4 Dec 2003, 16:36

  • Broadreach scoops up roaming partners

    Boingo, iPass, Gric and more

    UK wired and wireless Internet access provider Broadreach has extended its roster of roaming agreements, the company said today. Broadreach, the company behind ReadytoSurf-branded hotspots and Internet cafe facilities, has agreed to allow corporate remote access rivals iPass and Gric to add its sites to their list of connection …

    Broadband 4 Dec 2003, 16:38

  • Humans struggle for supremacy in online robot wars

    AI rolls inexorably towards world domination

    Human ingenuity is just holding its own against AI-designed machines in Sodarace, a joint offering of Soda and Queen Mary College, University of London. Sodarace is "the online olympics pitting human creativity against machine learning in a competition to design robots that race over 2D terrains using the Sodaconstructor …

    Bootnotes 4 Dec 2003, 16:41

  • What Big Bird knows about Sun

    Sometimes you have to be a big, tall, yellow freak

    After attending the last two Sun Microsystems' user shows, we can only conclude that CEO Scott McNealy's children are huge Sesame Street fans. Sun continues to offer up a notion often chanted on the kids programme that "being different is okay". Whether you are purple like a Sun server, have a $9 Supercuts hairdo or suffer from …

    Servers 4 Dec 2003, 16:46

  • 2 February 2004 is Prescott Day

    Current prices to fall the week after

    Intel's 90nm 'Prescott' Pentium 4 processor will launch on Monday, 2 February, according to Xbit Labs which cites sources said to be close to the company. On the big day, the chip giant will roll out the anticipated 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition - for a whopping $999, apparently - along with a vanilla 130nm P4 clocked to the …

    Channel 4 Dec 2003, 17:22

  • IT giants fingered over links to China

    'Responsible for the plight of China's embattled Internet users'

    A human rights organisation has written to more than a dozen of the world's leading IT companies urging them to take a stand against the Chinese government's repression of the Internet. Reporters Without Borders - which fights for press freedom - has written to the bosses of Microsoft, Intel, Thomson, Nortel Networks, Hewlett- …

    Business 4 Dec 2003, 17:25